Destroyer of The Guardians
by Xx Epic Emo Kitty xX
Summary: Curiosity is a killer thing and it's all it took for Jack to drag out a forest spirit named Zera. Having the ability to bend nature, could she perhaps be a Guardian? Or was she born to be a monster..? Lives are on the line as truth kills this girls mind and fear overpowers everything.
1. Guardian of the Forest

It was a lazy fall afternoon, a gentle breeze, and the frequent sound of crunching leaves from the animals. It was almost Winter, her most hated season. How could you not hate it? The cold air, frozen trees, and of course most of the animals were hibernating; it's quite lonely... There were those few who stayed awake for her company, but sadly they had their own business to attend too. Zera sat on a high tree branch, relaxing in the late November air; her long white/gray hair flowing behind her. She looked over her home with pure white eyes, trying to find anything fun to do. She jolted up right when her fox ears titled right from a sudden sound, but only to go flat when she realized it was a deer snapping a stick. So boring... A small owl perched beside her, looking at the sky.

_Have you prepared for Winter this year my dear Queen? _The owl spoke with a serious look in his eyes. She lazily gazed at her friend, Ricardo, and snorted. Such a bossy owl he was! Constantly telling her what to do! Sure she was a Guardian and she had to do her job and protect the woods around the small town, but it was boring... Doing the same things over and over again! Prepare the animals for Winter, help put them to sleep, keep the forest alive, and most important; keep people out. There was some parts that were safe, but if kids were to travel to deep into the woods, it would throw the balance off and they could get hurt. It wasn't a huge problem though, since most of the time kids stayed near the entrance where frozen ponds were. Zera didn't mind this, but it made her sad... Seeing the kids everyday, play and have fun with one another. One of the rules of being Guardian of the forest, she was not aloud to be seen. Wouldn't you freak out seeing a girl with animal ears and a tail? Also she was scared... Not like she would admit it! But all the problems that could come along if she was to show herself. People coming in to find her, hunters, and her animals could be in danger! Being seen was a no no.

"I'm all done! Dang leave me alone already!" Zera yelled, kicking her legs. Ricardo raised an eyebrow, if owl's even had one and puffed his feathers. _Stop being a brat and stop complaining! You should be happy, you can play with the deer this year since a lot of fawns were born. _

"What if I don't wanna play with the deer? They only want to buck heads and run." She frowned, picking at a piece of bark from the tree with her claw. Ricardo nudged her arm and flew in front of her, _You could always help change the hare's fur like you're suppost too. _

"To boring! And they can do it naturally." Ricardo fluffed my hair with one of his wings, making me swat him away with a low growl. "Leave me alone will you!" He was about to just that until a young buck ran at us and bonked his head on the tree. It was none other than the trouble maker, Fern. _What is it you want young one? _

_Queen, a young boy and white hair human is entering the forest! _Fern panicked, stomping his hoof on the dirt. _I'll take care of them if you wish!_ I couldn't help, but giggle at Fern. This deer would surely be hunted one day, if it wasn't for her. Zera jumped from her branch, landing perfectly and summoning her staff. It was tall and the top was pointed like a spear, rapping around it was vines and leaves. She didn't use it often, but she had to have it to move the forest to her will.

Ricardo flew onto her staff, sitting on the point like it was nothing. _Will this entertain you for now? _He scoffed. Zera swung her staff to be rid of him and glared. "Leave me be you dumb bird! And Fern you may go, I will go take care of the intruders." She sounded serious, but she was going to take her time with this one. When would another pair of kids come in here? next year or more! Ricardo didn't trust her, but left as she wanted.

Fern jumped, bucking the air with a snort, _I want to help!_

"Then go flirt with some doe or something! Make babies for all I care!" Zera laughed. Fern didn't think it was very funny, but he left her anyway to do some flirting; he was quite the ladies man. "Thank goodness..." Finally alone and know she had some fun to do! She began to jump to the place where the two was spotted, the tree's told her where to go. Once close, she immediately took cover behind a tree. Like all Guardian's, if no one believed in you, you couldn't be seen. However, she liked the idea of stalking her prey without being detected. Something smelt funny in the air..? Was it snow? Vanilla perhaps? Suddenly Zera's tail fluffed out and goose bumps covered her arms. Was that a chill in the air that passed by her? But it wasn't Winter yet? Zera peeked over the tree and saw a little boy with brown hair and eyes. He was dressed up for the cold temperature to come, but what caught Zera's eyes was the boy next to him. He had pure white hair and crystal blues eyes. He was wearing a blue hoodie with snow? And brown pants with bare feet. His skin was white like snow... Another thing she noticed was he was holding a staff, much different from hers.

"You sure it's out here, Jamie? We're getting pretty far from town." The white hair boy said, looking around.

"I'm positive! I was here yesterday and found it! It was amazing, it was a small cave that had pictures in it of us! Remember when we were ice skating last year? Someone drew us then!" The little boy named Jamie smiled. Zera froze in place, gulping with fear. How did she not notice last year? How could have the boy sneak in without her knowing? Was she busy then with preparations? At least Ricardo didn't kill her! "Hey Jack, I was wondering. Why haven't you been this far into the forest? I thought you help spread Winter everywhere?"

"I do, but here is different. It seems to do it's own thing ya know? It changes itself." Jack shrugged. This place changes on it's own? I thought everywhere does that? What does he mean by help spread Winter? It better not be him that makes this place so cold! Or she was going to strangle him! Zera shook her head violently with a growl, enough delly dallying! She needed to get rid of them! Zera cracked her knuckles as she ready her staff with a smirk. How about some nuts? She moved her staff to the right and a tall tree tilted forward, making nuts fall onto the boys.

"Ow! They both called. Jack looked up and saw the tree was tilted forward like someone pushed it. He was pretty sure it wasn't like that before. Jamie titled his head at Jack and they both shrugged and continued walking. Zera puffed her cheeks, but knew it wasn't going to be easy. Besides, boys where always the hardest. Zera shifted to another tree and with a sway of her staff, several roots dug up from the ground and tripped Jamie; Jack was to fast and helped him before he fell.

"You okay?" He asked, eyeing the ground suspiciously; he knew for certain he saw the roots move by themselves, something was going on here.

"I'm fine!" Jamie smiled.

"Hold on for a second." Jack took flight and Zera's eyes almost popped out of her skull. He was flying! Was that even possible!? Jack looked around some trees, but found nothing. Was it his imagination? But he surely saw the roots move. Suddenly he saw something white move behind a tree. He quickly flew towards it, but found nothing behind the tree.

"Jack, come on! I don't want to be home at dark!" Jamie yelled, making Jack stop and go back to his side. He put his hands in his pockets and eyed the tree closely; he knew something was up, but decided not to freak Jamie out. Nothing a little ice couldn't handle. Zera sighed, that was to close! She was almost seen! But she couldn't let me go that easily.

The boys eventually arrived at a small cave, avoiding more 'mysterious' appearances. Jamie crawled into the cave quickly while Jack looked around real quick before entering. Jamie pointed at pieces of paper that littered the cave with a spark in his eyes; he was truly proud for finding this small discovery. Jack was amazed on how much detail was put into the drawings, it must have took the person all day to draw these! Jack noticed the one Jamie was talking about, but he didn't see himself in it. Oh right... He was busy helping Santa that day, how did he remember? Well in the picture it showed Jamie's friend, Sarah, tripping and bruising her arm.

"Look at this one!" Jamie pointed at a picture of one of Tooth's little helpers. Jack was truly curious now on who lived here. It was nice and clean, so it mustn't be abandoned, and some of the pictures were new. He could tell by one of them was a drawing of Lily, picking berries not to long ago. Zera was peeking from the entrance with a scowl on her face. How could he have found her home? It was well hidden! Deep in the middle of the woods, he would have to be an expert to find it!

"These are really good." Jack commented, scanning a finger on one of the pictures of Jamie hugging a tree. Suddenly the picture was covered in a thin layer of ice and Jack apologize with a whisper; hopefully the owner wouldn't mind. Zera was fuming now, that was a good picture! She shook her staff violently and the very floor of the cave began to crack. "We better get out!" Jack scooped Jamie up, flying out of the cave. However, Zera wasn't ready for this and was knocked straight into. They all rolled a little bit until Jack got his footing and hopped up.

"Jack?" Jamie shook his head, removing some leaves, but froze when he saw Zera; face first into the ground. She was going to kill them! Zera lifted up her face, wiped some dirt away and growled at the boy; Jamie scooted away from the sight of her fangs. "J-Jack!" That reminded Zera and she looked back. Thank god she was fast or she would have never avoid the lash from Jack's staff!

"Woah Woah! Calm down!" Zera shouted, raising her hands into the air. Jack glared at her harshly, floating in front of Jamie. She got off the ground and wiped her clothes clean. They were just washed by the fish too...

"Her eyes..." Jamie pointed with confusion and still a hint of fear. Zera touched her cheek, near her eye and cowered. Her animal instinct had to kick in! Jack noticed her appearance as well and didn't remember any of the Guardians telling him of a being living in the forest. Surely, they would have known about her, she was so different.

Zera hugged her tail close, taking a step back before speaking. "Please leave." Jack floated to the ground and cleared his throat.

"We didn't mean to hit you earlier and do you know who lives in this cave? The drawing are amazing." He smiled.

"That would be I."

"You where watching us this whole time?" Jamie questioned, no longer showing fear. He was quite curious about the girl in front of him, Jack hasn't told him about her and he didn't hear a story about her. Zera nodded with a slight blush.

"What's your name?" Jack asked.

"Zera." She said, looking away from them. She noticed Ricardo sitting in one of the trees, watching her with a glare. _Get rid of them. _She instantly thew away her shyness and glared at the intruders, "Leave at once."

Jack was surprised by the sudden harsh tone, but decided to try being nice still. "Zera, why are you living in the woods and what are you?" He had to know if she was a guardian! and why he hasn't heard about her! Curiosity was surely one of his faults. She hit the ground violently with her staff, making the forest shake.

"I do not wish to use force, but leave and do not return."

"B-But!" Jamie was interrupted when Jack scooted him up into his arms. Oh he wasn't going to just leave and not return, for know he would, but he would return. He wanted answer's and he was going to get them! Zera was a tab bit sad they were so willingly to leave... This was the first time she has spoken to someone other than an animal and this boy named Jack was different than a normal human... What was he? And how did he freeze her picture by just the touch of his finger?

"Sorry for intruding." Jack said and flew off, he had to see Santa when he was done dropping Jamie at home. Zera watched as Jack's white hair disappeared in the trees and soon enough she felt them leave the forest. Ricardo flew down from the tree and rested on her shoulder. _Took you long enough,_ He shook his feathers.

"Shut up." Zera glared, "they were interesting." Not once has she truly questioned the outside world, but now she was dead on curious. Was there other's like Jack? Could there perhaps be someone like her! What was she? Like he asked her... Could she be human? No, such a silly question to ask when she had animal parts! Maybe The Man in the Moon could tell her! She's never seen him before, but long ago when she first woke up in the forest; he spoke to her and told her to guard the forest. She's tried so many times to speak to him, but he had to answer her this time! He just had to!

_You're not getting any crazy idea's? _Ricardo's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"No! I have better things to do!" She barked, going into her cave and pulling out a piece of paper. Tonight she was going to try talking to The Man in the Moon, but for now she was going to draw the mysterious white haired boy and add him to her wall.


	2. Leaving Protection

Zera popped her head out as the first snow was falling down onto the ruff dead grass. When a small snow drop landed on her nose, she sneezed and shook her head; she hated snow... She would have just loved to stay in her cave all Winter, but sadly she had to keep watch of the forest. Why was Winter here early? Did it have something to do with that boy? Jamie did say he help spread the cold. All because of him, she would have to suffer more snow! Zera crawled out of her home and wiped the snow off her hands. She sniffed the air, nothing out of the ordinary. Today she was to simply patrol the area and see how the baby bunnies were doing.

Zera began walking after summoning a much thicker outfit to wear. It was a very heavy white kimono with silver swirls decorating the bottom, you couldn't even see her hands when down by her side. Ricardo flew around her before sitting on her shoulder, shaking snow off his now white feathers. _How was your rest? _

"It was quite nice, but I couldn't get those two boys out of my head. I still can't believe I let them travel so far into the forest and they found my home!" I growled, "The one named Jack, he was so different from all the other humans I've seen. His hair was white like snow and his eyes! They were blue like ice! Could he really be able to help spread this blasted stuff!" What was this feeling deep down in her gut? Was this pure fascination or perhaps wonder? Who cares, it's not like she'll ever see him again. Not to mention The Man in the Moon was of no help once again! He didn't even answer her and she had to have another restless night; at least she got her picture done of Jack. It was him floating in the sky , looking for her behind the trees.

_Earth to, Zera! Listen at once! _Ricardo flapped his wings violently, causing me to swing him off. He flew up to a tree and so often moved to another one to keep up with Zera's pace. He's never seen her this curious before and it worried him; nothing ever good came from curiosity. He should have keep his guard up, then he wouldn't be worrying right now! Oh well, she wasn't brave enough to go against his orders.

Zera was standing on one of the tallest hills in the forest, looking over the land with a small smile; everything looked normal. Why did Winter have to come early? She missed the fall colors already.

* * *

Jack flew into North's factory with quickness and almost landed into one of his works pile of toys; he apologized to the elf real quick before returning his search for the jolly man. He was growing impatient until he saw North checking his list for the first time this year. Jack was in front of him in a split second, causing North to almost drop his cup of hot cocoa.

"What is it, Jack!" North spat, fixing his now ruffled beard from Jack's gust of cold wind. Jack landed on the ground, glaring at North, but it wasn't one of pure anger.

"You never told me a forest spirit lived in the forest near the town." Jack said, crossing his arms. He was mostly upset by the fact no one bothered to tell him spirits like that existed! Who knew that someone was living in the forest! How could the people not of known? Then again adults always told their children not to wonder far in the woods.

"What are you talking about?" North raised an eyebrow, "Did the cold finally get to you?" Jack rolled his eyes at North's poor excuse of a joke and used his ice powers to build a tiny replica of the girl; nothing with detail of course, like color and voice. It was see through and the tiniest touch could break it. It looked exactly like Zera as ice could get and it was when she was crouching away from him and Jamie. North looked at the small ice girl, but nothing ringed a bell.

"I've never seen or heard of her before." He said. Jack pouted, stomped his foot, and looked up through the giant window that showed the moon; barley visible because of the sun light. "I do not think he will answer you, Jack."

"Yea yea, I know! But if you don't know about her, then no one will! I can't accept the idea that she was simply there."

"You're not suggesting she's a Guardian? If she was we would have known." North said, feeling offended.

Jack threw his hands up in defense, "Not at all! I'm just wondering what she is." If The Man in the Moon wasn't going to help him, who would? He couldn't ask Bunnymund, he wouldn't know anything. Tooth would look in her teeth and Jack highly doubted that she had canines in her vault, but what if when she was alive? No... Looking that deep into the past wasn't necessary. Besides he didn't want to know about her past life, just what she was now. Sandy would be no help at all and if Jamie didn't recognize her, then definitely the children wouldn't know.

"If you're wondering so much about her, then just go talk to her." North spoke up, getting irritated. He had a list to check after all! Sometimes Jack was so dumb. In which the boy snapped his fingers, floated back into the air with a jump.

"You're right!" Jack said, giving North a pat on the back and dashing out the door.

* * *

Zera was helping the last baby bunny huddle close to her mother before wiping her brow with a sigh. Helping bunny was a hard thing to do when all they wanted was to run away! At least she got a work out! Zera waved the mother good-bye and started her journey to the small frozen pond that no doubt kids were already skating on; as soon as that pond freezes, kids run on it like candy. She was hoping there were only a few kids today, it would give her time to put more detail into her picture. When she arrived at the pond she found no one to be there and it made her frown. She really wanted to draw today... What if she drew Jack again? He sure was a unique person to draw and his eyes were the best part, but she already forgot what he was wearing... Today was just meant to be boring... Suddenly a cold gust of wind caused Zera to hold onto her arms and make her tail puff. What the?

Her eyes looked up to see Jack was floating above the pond and was smiling at her. How could she have not noticed him flying?! Was she getting old? "You like drawing people skate?" His voice called, making her realize she still had paper in her hands. Zera was not about to answer him and was about to turn around, but he appeared in front of her. "Do you?" She blushed from her personal space being invaded and she backed away with a growl.

"You don't have to get mad, it was just a question." He said.

"Why did you return?" Zera asked, flicking her tail. Jack thought about the question for a minute, while floating on his back; this caused Zera to glare at him with jealousy. You know how much easier it would be to get things done while flying! Simple, less walking!

"I wanted to ask you some questions that is all." Jack floated to the pond once more and twirled on the ice; he looked professional. Zera really wanted to draw this moment, he looked so flawless while ice skating. However, her stubborn attitude wasn't about to give in. "I know you wanna draw with your pencil shaking." This made Zera bite her tongue.

"I will not do such a thing!" She barked, stomping her bare foot on the snow. "Also was it you thought brought Winter early! I hate the cold!" Jack froze from his ice dancing and thought.

"In a way, I guess I brought it early." He said, "I wanted to play with the kids sooner." Zera stepped away from the safety of the trees, almost stepping onto the ice. "I'm surprise it came here though." Zera was confused for a second, but it's not like she cared. Sucking up her pride, she sat down on the snow and got her pencil ready. As long Ricardo wasn't here it should be fine to talk to him... it's not like he was deadly! Jack seemed to smile at her, she wasn't that hard of a nut to crack!

"Dance." She simply stated, glaring at him from behind her paper. Jack only nodded and began to dance his perfect moves. He slid across the ice like a knife to icing, his twirls were like swirls in ice cream, and every now and then he would smirk at Zera; making her growl under her breath. After about an hour or two, she had the main sketch down, making the rest simple work. However, she didn't feel like drawing anymore and Jack was growing bored of ice skating. Zera safely folded her sketch, placed it in her kimono and rose to her feet. Jack floated to her and was disappointed he didn't get to look at the drawing, but he wasn't going to say anything.

"Can I ask you questions now?" He said. Zera scanned the area and didn't seem to see Ricardo or anyone for the matter. Was it truly safe to answer Jack's questions? Would Ricardo get mad? Why should she care! He was just an old owl that told her what to do!

"Go ahead." She smirked. Jack was excited, but now he was blank... what was he going to ask her!? He flew all the way to North for him just to go blank. Zera tilted her head as she stared at Jack's blank expression. Was he okay? "Hello?"

"Sorry! Okay first question!" He flew around her slowly, "What are you?" That was simple enough, yes? This should answer a lot for him!

"I am the Guardian of the forest, I protect the animals and trees."

Jack busted forth, making snow flakes appear into thin air; this made Zera sneeze. "You are a Guardian! I knew it!"

"What do you mean?" She questioned, waving snow flakes away. "I am not what you are, if that is what your referring too." Jack was shot down at this and then he remembered that not even North knew about her; he was to naive to believe such false information. She was just a simple protector of the woods.

"Question number two..." He frowned, rubbing his chin. "How long have you been in these woods?" Zera was the one silent now as she thought. How long has she been here? Surely more than ten years? But she didn't look old enough to be in her twenties, eighty was her best. What if she was much older than that and just let the years slip by?

"For as long as I can remember." That was an honest answer right? Good enough. Jack wasn't very pleased by her response, but decided to let it slide.

"Next one, was it you who was controlling the roots that tripped Jamie?" If she answered yes, would this mean she had powers?

"I can not answer." Zera said. She wasn't going to tell a stranger what she was capable of! That would be like telling a killer where you were hiding when he came over that night to slice your throat. Jack frowned, crossed his arms, and made a small gust of wind go through her white hair; she shivered, hugging her kimono close. "Quit that!" So he could control the cold! It was his fault for all this nonsense!

Jack floated around her in circles until a question popped into this head, "If you've been here as long as you can remember, when's the last time you left the place?" Zera frowned and looked away from Jack's crystal blue eyes. She's never left the forest before... Ricardo always told her to stay and that it was dangerous to leave... Should she lie?

"I-I've... never been out of the forest." She finally said in a whisper. Jack was shocked by this, she's never left before? Not even once? How long has she stayed here in these woods? Now that he thought about it... Some of the pictures in the cave was brown with age. Jack couldn't help, but feel sorry for her... he always felt lonely by not being able to be seen by everyone, but her... she's never even seen what a house was, let alone what it was like to step outside. Heck, he didn't even knew she existed until yesterday.

Suddenly she snapped her jaws sharply with a loud clack, "I don't care though! It's dangerous out there and why would I leave? When it's most likely boring out there!" She had it all wrong!

"Have you never seen it? It's amazing! All the lights at night and the kids running the streets! Every year we play snow ball fights and sledding down the roads!" Jack smiled, waving his arms around to show demonstrations. Now this caught Zera's attention and she couldn't help, but picture the imagines he described. Ricardo always said it was bad... This doesn't sound scary at all! In front of her Jack, offered his hand. She stared at it, blinking with confusion.

"Would you like to see yourself?" He said calmly. Zera was hesitant, what if she got in trouble? Would Ricardo find out she left the protection of the forest? She would be leaving the only place she knew and with a stranger at most. Her small pale hand lingered over Jack's with a frown on her face. What could happen out there? Would other's freak out because of her appearance? This could be her only chance... She gently took Jack's hand; cold taking over her warmth. He smiled at her as they left the forest.

* * *

The harsh cry of a crow echoed through out the darkness and the only thing in sight was a bright sharp smile. "**I've found you..**."


	3. Being a Fox Spirit

Knock knock knock went the window glass as a figure floated by it, waiting for an answer. It was the afternoon and the Winter sky was bright and cloudless, of course that wasn't enough to satisfy a very stubborn forest spirit. Zera shook in her kimono as she watched Jack tap on a window, waiting for who knows what! She flattened her ears as she heard kids run by, now on regular situations, she would have freaked out and ran away. However, her being out of her forest and into the unknown, she had kind of no right to do so. Jack and Jamie didn't show any signs of fear by her tail or ears, but that didn't mean other people would; so Jack found her a blue hat to wear to cover her ears and as for her tail she simply stuffed it in her kimono.

"Jack, hurry up!" Zera barked, shuffling her bare feet.

Jack looked down at her with slight annoyance, "You can wait." After another minute someone opened the window and Jack flew in, leaving Zera outside with a scowl. Jack landed on Jamie's bed with a wide smile, he couldn't wait to surprise his friend! Yesterday Jamie couldn't stop talking about her and how she looked like she was straight out of a mythology book. Jack didn't correct him in anyway and actually he kind of agreeded, she didn't look like anything else. Her attitude could use some work, but other than that she seemed so delicate; like one false move could harm her.

"What is it, Jack?" Jamie asked, drinking a glass of water; that's probably why it took so long for him to answer the window.

"You sure you wanna know?" Jack teased, propping a leg up on the bed. Jamie raised an eyebrow, but he also had a smile; whatever it was it had to be good! Jamie sat his glass down, holding back his urge to tackle Jack with excitement.

"Yes! What is it?" He said with impatience. Jack twisted a finger in the air, like he had all the time in the world. He sure loved playing with the little kid.

"I brought-"

"Jack! I will go up there and tear your throat out!" Jamie knew that voice, sense it was only yesterday he heard it and was captivated.

"You brought her here! That's amazing, Jack!" Jamie cheered, looking out the window and seeing Zera huddled up in her kimono; she looked like a puff ball. One of her ears moved from under her hat in his direction before she looked up with curiosity. He couldn't believe his eyes, she was wearing a white kimono and honestly she looked like a princess, minus the hat. Her pure white eyes scanned him over, then it dawned on her it was the little boy from yesterday. Was this who Jack wanted to see first?

"Don't stare!" Zera yelled, stomping her foot with a tad blush; she wasn't so used to so much eye contact. Jamie rushed back to Jack, hugging him super tight. Jack hugged him back, but kept his hold on him as he took them outside through the window. He landed safely next to Zera and let Jamie down onto the soft snow. "Finally! I was going to punch you!" Jack only rolled his eyes at her comment. He noticed she said a lot of threats, but never went through with them. Perhaps it made her feel bigger than she was? Which made him now notice, she wasn't very tall for a forest spirit; he's always heard them as being tall as trees, if anything she was about 5'1 maybe even shorter.

"It's very nice to see you again!" Jamie squealed, jumping on her in a hug. Zera was blown back by this and was frozen with confusion; what was this boy doing? Why was he so close? Zera slowly pushed him away, but Jamie didn't seem to mind in the least. "Do you wanna play? Oh! My friends will defiantly want to see you! Come on!" He already grabbed her wrist and was dragging her out of his lawn, into the streets. Jack was cautious at first, but decided it was fine since she had her ears covered and tail. He wasn't worried about the kids at all since they were used to him and his friends, but it was the adults that caught his alarm. They couldn't see him or the other Guardians, because well... Their Guardians! They can only be seen by those who believe in them, but with Zera it was another story; she wasn't a Guardian or North would have known. She was a spirit and could be seen by anyone, maybe that's why she was in the woods? If the adults were to see her, would they panic? Try to kidnap her and do horrible things? The mere thought made Jack uneasy and he quickly abandoned it.

"Hey guys!" Jamie yelled into a young girls yard with several other children. They all froze from their game of catch to see what Jamie wanted, when their eyes landed on the new girl; curiosity filled them. Zera has seen plenty of children in her life, of course from a distance and in hiding. However, the kids in front of her were different, like the new she was not normal; could they see past her illusion? She backed away a few steps, but Jamie wouldn't let her go.

"Jamie, who is she? And hi, Jack!"

"Jack! Have you come to play!?" The kids cheered running up to the white haired boy, hugging him and trying to climb on his back.

"Nice to see you all again and in fact I have come to play!" Jack laughed, pulling the youngest girl off. They all settled down when Zera tried to sneak off, but only ended up slipping in the cursed snow; She landed on her palms and causing all eyes on her once more. Her pale cheeks flushed a bright red as the kids surrounded her, all those colored eyes peering into her soul, little faces filled with questions and curiosity. It made her nervous and unable to regain her feet, but before she felt like crying, a hand reached out to help her up. Her eyes traveled up and to the face of a little girl with long black hair and green eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a high pitched voice. Taking her hand with extreme care, Zera got back on her feet with a nod. Pushing past all the new things she wasn't used to and actually looked at the little ones, they were not at all worrying. Zera was afraid of making of fool of herself and ended up doing so, but instead of laughing like she thought she would receive; a hand was offered. These kids were not bad and had no intention of making her uncomfortable.

Jack watched as the group of children began asking Zera questions like 'why is your hair white?' 'Are you new here?' and 'Why do you have no eyes?'. She answered each answered each question carefully and did not give them a full answer. She didn't tell them she was from the forest, gave no hints on being a forest spirit and that was why her hair was white, and simply said she was born that way for her eyes. Jack was shocked at first when she fell to the ground and thought she was going to snap at the children for crowding her, but instead she cowered like when they first met her. He was thankful that the little girl named Sophie helped her up, it made Zera surprised, but now she was smiling and the strange feeling of pressure was gone from the air.

"We should go play in the woods!" A boy offered, already leading the way. Zera however didn't like the idea for the fear of Ricardo finding her and dragging her back home. She knew she was in trouble, but she was to far gone to care. What she's seen so far was amazing! The buildings were so new and big! The kids were fun to talk too and just being away from so many trees made her want to stay longer! Who knew being alone for so long was such a bad thing! Jack noticed Zera's hesitaion and flew to the front of the group.

"Why don't we try sledding instead?" He offered. This instantly changed their minds and Jack heard a quite releif come from Zera's lips. He helped drag out a couple sleds from kids houses as Zera watched each on be done; she would have helped, but they looked like they had it under control. What was this 'sledding'? Was it a game? A place? How about a person she hasn't met yet? Sledding was sure a weird name for someone? Jack dragged a sled up to Zera and she poked it with caution.

"What is it?" She asked, tilting her head.

"This is a sled, we use them to slide down hills. You wanna try?" He asked. Zera didn't want to, but new born feelings were building up inside her, like she had to do it! She couldn't control the urges to try this strange thing out and before she could even blink, she was on the sled, sitting down and ready to slide. Jack was about to correct her on her little mistake, she sat on it even thought they weren't even close to a hill! However, he decided not to because she looked to innocent, sitting there with wide eyes; instead Jack grabbed the rope that was connected to the front of the sled and dragged her along as they looked for a good hill.

"I wanna ride with Zera!" Jamie yelled, running in front of the pack of children and plopping behind Zera. Jack growled as he had to drag extra weight.

"Why are you behind me?" Zera asked, looking over her shoulder.

Jamie slipped his small arms around her waist and hugged her close, "So I can protect you from falling!" Zera blushed at this and huffed, crossing her arms tightly.

"I'm perfectly fine without you!" She protested. He squeezed tighter, making her squeak. "Just don't suffocate me!"

"Okay!" Jamie laughed, the other kids couldn't keep their laughter in as well and ended up laughing along with them them. Even Jack the mighty cold couldn't help, but snicker under his icy breath. Quickly Jack noticed a hill and pointed for the group to see.

"Finally!" I chubby little boy cheered, rushing ahead to be first. He got his sled ready, fix his hat, and slid down with speed; screaming with excitement. This made the other kids impatient and they all rushed to the top; joining their friend. Jack was on top of the hill last along with his cargo and once he had it set up, he sat in front of the two. Zera peared over the side of him and saw the hill.. was... huge! They were far from the bottom and the children was already sliding into the streets. She gripped the bottom of her kimono tightly as Jamie did the same to her sides.

"You might wanna hold on." Jack spoke, breaking Zera away from her thoughts.

"I'm fine!" She barked, tightening her grip, to were her knuckles were white. She didn't need to hold on to him for support! She was perfectly fine going down a very huge hill! And besides she already had another boy holding onto her. Suddenly, Jack pushed off and they sped down the hill. "AAHH!" Zera rapped her arms around Jack, making him smile. They rushed down the hill and into the streets along side the children. Jamie laughed behind Zera as Jack avoided a pole that threatened to stop them. Jack couldn't get enough of the cold breeze rushing past him so he decided to slicken the snow with his powers, making them go faster; zooming past the kids. This made Zera's beanie fly off and expose her ears, making Jamie gasp; he's already seen her ears, but was scared of the fact the other kids could see her. Jack was too caught up in the moment to notice and focused on flying past things.

"EARS!" This caught all of their attentions and they looked to their right to see one of the children who managed to keep up with Jack was pointing at Zera with shock. This made Zera pale and let go of Jack, shift to the side, and completely fall off the sled.

"Hey!" Jack yelled, sliding the sled to it's side so it would slow down. Zera tumbled in the snow till she hit a small pile, making her stop, but also making her tail slip out. She laid there for a minute so her world would stop spinning, when everything slowed down, she looked up and saw everyone looking at her once again; this time it wasn't for fun. She scrambled to her hands and knees, feeling completely exposed and scared. What if they screamed? Called for help thinking she was a monster? Jack instantly was in front of her, but he wasn't threatening in anyway; he was smiling.

"Jack? What is she?" A girl asked, pointing at her. That's all it took for Zera to lose it, that one finger threatened her in a silent way. She felt everyone silence and in her own mind, she pictured them laughing at her, calling for their parents, and screaming for help as they saw her as a monster. Zera backed away a little and Jamie noticed she wasn't acting normal, she was too frightened! Her eyes were wide and searching everywhere frantically, her ears were wide up not even flinching, her tail was puffed out. Zera couldn't hear that Jack was explaining to the children she was fine and to keep it a secret, she was to far gone in her own scary prison to be reasoned with.

"Stay back!" She screamed, her arms started to extend. This made everyone freeze and before them, Zera was transforming into a small white fox. Her clothes laid scattered as she growled at the young kids. She was a lot taller than an average fox and much longer. Jack didn't know what to think about the situation! One minute they were having fun sledding! And now she was scared out of her mind in the body of a fox! Was it because she was part fox that she was so timid? Or perhaps she was terrified that she could be harmed? Didn't she hear him talking to the kids in a laughing matter?

"Zera?" Jamie reached out to stroke her fur, but she snapped at him and was off in a flash. Jack looked at the kids once before speeding after the frail creature. They fled past people, she was like a white blur, blending in with the snow. Jack was right about to fly down and scoop her into his arms with his staff, but suddenly he was repealed back; hitting his head on a tree. What just happened? He shook his head and tried once more, only to bash his face against an invisible wall? Jack scanned the area, he was on the outskirts of the forest in which Zera lived; she was no longer in sight. However, in the trees far away he saw a pure white owl, glaring at him.


End file.
